Anti-Mage vs Magnus

How this matchup plays

Controlling the map against an Anti-Mage often comes down to who can shut down his farm, and Magnus has a great tool for this in Reverse Polarity. It's a large area-of-effect stun that Anti-Mage can't block with Counterspell, which is normally his go-to defense against lockdowns. This means if Magnus lands a good initiation, Anti-Mage is almost always caught. Even if he tries to Blink away after the stun, a follow-up Skewer can pull him right back into trouble. Magnus also provides Empower to his own carry, helping his team keep pace with Anti-Mage's farm even if he isn't getting killed.

The entire mid-game for Anti-Mage becomes about tracking Magnus's position. Once Magnus gets a Blink Dagger, Anti-Mage has to be extremely careful about where he splits the map, which can slow his item timings. Magnus's team will want to play around his ultimate, using smoke to find pickoffs on the lone Anti-Mage. For this to work out for Anti-Mage, he needs excellent vision and has to rely on his team to apply pressure elsewhere, forcing Magnus to choose between defending or hunting. If Magnus uses Reverse Polarity on someone else, Anti-Mage is usually free to clean up the fight.